Quote:
Originally Posted by jpohlic
We'll be staying on East Shuswap Lake near Marble Point. Any fishing tips would be appreciated as most of my fishing experience has been with a fly rod in mountain streams/small lakes or fishing for pike/walleye.
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I have not used a clip on line counter - so I don't know if they are worth it or not.
Dipsy's will require a rod with a pretty firm spine as they pull pretty hard.
In terms of fishing Shuswap - here a few suggestions to start off your Dipsy diver OR Downirigger (set up is same after that);
Rainbows .....
Run a flasher to 36" of mono to a lure. Popular lure choices are hoochies, apex or even coyote spoons. J-Plugs or Lymans also work but will require a shorter set back or can be used without a flasher.
Troll for rainbows at 2.4 to 3.5 mph and vary the speed.
Drag your gear throught he mass of the fish you spot holding. Rainbows like it shallower typically.
Laker .......
Run a dodger (not flasher) back 24"-48" to a william wobbler, canadian wiggler, or a rapala/plug which has a (slow wobble pattern). Rapala's website shows you the action of each lure under water. I find lakers like to hit a wider slower occilation compare to other species for some reason.
You can also substitute a ford fender or willow leaf in place of the dodger.
A few general ideas.....for both Rainbow and Lakers
Snubber or No snubber - depending if you are getting a hard smashing hit and not hooking them up, tearing hooks out, size of fish or etc....consider experimenting with or without a snubber.
Off set - Even if I run only one dispsy I crank it hard 2-3 clicks left or right for lakers - it makes the lures run up and down and creates a wobble as the dispsy contines to try and adjust itself. Running one our 3 clicks to the left, for example, will make the presentation drop down and dart to the right when you cut the throttle.
Line twist and tangles - Always use bead chain swivels to eliminate line twist and subsiquent tangles. I use 2 to 3 of them in my set ups on coast lock snaps. Makes a big difference.
Experiment and Replicate - Boat speed, depth, lures, colors, set back (from ball to lure or dipsy to lure), off set (left ot right) and distnace between flasher and lure ......... so many variables ..........start in the middle of the spectrum with one rod and play with the second rod.
Boat control - lots of "S" patterns, speed adjustement are key - trolling at a steady pace in a straight line does not produce fish as well.
Consider planer boards - I like running sa surface lure like a big black and silver fly on the surface at break neck speeds off a planner board (4mph) when there is just a little chop and the rainbows are just below surface. Sometimes this is the ticket.
hope that helps - let us know how you do.